Yesterday I did something very stupid and very bizarre. I tripped over nothing in the street, just near Pimlico tube station, and damaged both myself and my glasses. Neither badly, however (today I got the glass straightened out, free of charge, with no damage done at all to the lenses), and I was able to proceed with my journey. On my way home, I walked back along the river, my idea being check if the Shard could be seen through the Wheel yet.

Well, I did spy the top of what there is so far of the Shard, but only through a gap between boring office blocks, a bit like this.

Click to get that even bigger and even duller.

The Shard is right there in the middle, under the crane. Here’s a closer up look at it, taken moments earlier:

And no, I do not know what those purple things are.

As you can see, it will have to really go some before it is visible above such buildings as those in the foreground. Nevertheless according to my calculations some sort of big spike (top of) will eventually be visible through the Wheel, from around where I was, and definitely from further afield. According to my calculations just a moment ago, looking at a London map, if you stand outside Buckingham Palace, where all the tourists do, at the far end of St James’s Park from me, you will see the Shard through the Wheel, and you can maybe see it already, although I doubt it. Since that spot is only a walk away from me, I’ll check that out anyway, sometime Real Soon Now.

More interesting and far more dramatic last night was this notice. I was still feeling a bit shaky after my accident and didn’t feel up to reading it all, while standing right in front of it. But then I thought, I know what, I’ll read it when I get home:

So now you know.

I don’t know why, but somehow I feel that the absence of the letters w, w and w, all in a little clump, followed by something along the lines of pleasedon’tlandpetshere.co.uk, says that these people are really serious. Such threats as the ones on this sign have been around a long time, since well before the www even existed. Besides which, www stuff is to sell stuff to you and to persuade you and generally to beg you to think well of whoever is www-ing. In the case of a government department it is to disguise rather than proclaim the fact that you have to do what it says. And that, says this sign, is not us, matey. We are flat out telling you, right here, right now, no arguing. Land a pet here? From abroad? It dies, and by the time we’ve finished with you you’ll want to die too. We are the government we are, and you will obey.

I rather like that. I know, I’m a libertarian and I’m not supposed to, but I really do. At least they’re telling it like it is.

One of the most disagreeable aspects of our present generation of rulers is how they pretend (prettyplease.gov.uk) that they aren’t giving us orders, when really they are. To which I reply: tax us if you must you bastards, but at least spare us the crap about how taxation “doesn’t have to be taxing” (that being my least favourite bit of bullshit.gov.uk of all). Yes if does you lying morons.

Click on the picture of it to get the sign even bigger and even scarier.

UPDATE Thursday: re those purple things. See first comment. This was the most informative shot of it that I could find. Horrible, I think. But temporary, so what the hell.